People: Head of business legal services appointed; New MD at Hull Trains; and more
Irwin Mitchell Banking & Finance partner, Paddy Sturman, has been appointed to head up the firm’s Business Legal Services (BLS) division in Leeds.
Sturman, who joined Irwin Mitchell from Gordons LLP over two years ago, specialises in advising institutional lenders, corporates and real estate investors and developers on all aspects of banking and finance, including corporate acquisitions, real estate investment and real estate development.
He will continue to head up the Banking & Finance team in Leeds, but in his new role he will also lead a 50 strong team specialising in corporate, real estate, restructuring & insolvency, intellectual property, commercial litigation, employment and commercial law.
Sturman takes over from Andrew Walker who has relocated to Irwin Mitchell’s Gatwick office to continue growing the firm’s restructuring and insolvency practice in the South of England.
Sturman said: “It is a huge honour to lead Irwin Mitchell’s business division in Leeds. I am excited about the challenge that lies ahead and I look forward to working closely with colleagues not just within Irwin Mitchell’s business division in Leeds, but also its personal legal services and private client divisions, to ensure we operate as a fully connected and integrated firm which provides unrivalled client care.”
Victoria Brackett, chief executive of Irwin Mitchell’s Business Legal Services division, added: “The legal sector in Leeds continues to grow and there is a huge opportunity for Irwin Mitchell to build on its reputation in the city and the wider region. Paddy has a clear vision for our business division and I’ve no doubt that he will be a success in his new role.”
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FirstGroup has appointed Louise Cheeseman, formerly Service Delivery Director at Hull Trains, as managing director of the rail operator.
Cheeseman, who is from Hull, started in the rail industry in 2001 as a guard with Northern Rail. Being quickly promoted through safety and operations roles, she became the general manager for Docklands Light Railway, which included responsibility for managing operations for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Following this, she spent some time in Sydney to assist in the preparation of a light rail bid. She spent a further two years with Metrolink in Manchester as Service Delivery Director before she joined Hull Trains in a similar capacity, and has been acting as Interim Managing Director since March of this year.
Steve Montgomery, Managing Director First Rail, said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Louise to lead Hull Trains. Louise has a wealth of global experience in the rail sector and has held several senior positions within the industry. We have exciting plans for Hull Trains including new rolling stock which will provide more seats for our customers and also offer the potential for more reliable journeys and further customer improvements when they enter service in 2019.”
Cheeseman added: “I look forward to leading the team at Hull Trains and building on the successes that we have achieved over recent years, in which we regularly score highly in the industry’s independent satisfaction surveys. We will offer ambitious improvements for passengers. We recently invested £60 million in the development and production of five new hi-tech, bi-mode trains that will come into service next year. This will not only deliver a more reliable service, it will increase capacity and keep people moving and communities prospering as we connect the Hull and Humber region to the capital.”
